Syracuse, Sicily, Italy Jul 6, 2026

Syracuse, Sicily, Italy

Founded by Greek settlers from Corinth around 734 BCE, the Italian city of Syracuse, on the island of Sicily, grew into one of the ancient Mediterranean"s great powers and is now part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, "Syracuse and the Rocky Necropolis of Pantalica." It is forever linked to Archimedes, whose genius still shapes its identity, and to Plato, who came to Syracuse hoping philosophy might shape political life. That layered past still feels tangible at Castello Maniace, a seafront fortress built for Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in the 13th century, which can still be admired today.

© Balate Dorin/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

Jul 6, 2018Pandas pucker up for International Kissing Day
Jul 6, 2019Racers pushing past sunflowers in the 2018 Tour de France
Jul 6, 2020Welcome to the Ring of Fire
Jul 6, 2021The most Instagrammable bird?
Jul 6, 2022Kissing Day
Jul 6, 2023International Kissing Day
Jul 6, 2025Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes in Death Valley National Park, California

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Oct 9, 2020Falling for Tennessee
May 9, 2019An endless journey
Jun 23, 2022Stari Most in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Jan 10, 2023Lake Peipus, Estonia
May 17, 2026Hawksbill Mountain in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia
May 7, 2025Dunluce Castle, County Antrim, Northern Ireland
Oct 19, 2022Wartburg Castle overlooking Thuringian Forest in Germany
Jul 28, 2022Longs Peak, Rocky Mountain National Park
Oct 22, 2019Bobbing for crab apples
Mar 10, 2018Johnston Canyon in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada
Apr 8, 2022Ponta Delgada
Dec 30, 2020Winter in the Wild West
Mar 18, 2020A stroll above the stratosphere
May 16, 20193,000 years of history
Jan 31, 2025Happy International Zebra Day!
Apr 13, 2021Ruins of a royal temple
Jun 4, 2020A bridge too Fawr
Mar 5, 2022Mont-Saint-Michel
Sep 28, 2019This view is brought to you by…
Aug 30, 2024International Whale Shark Day
Sep 19, 2026Oktoberfest, Germany
Mar 16, 2024National Panda Day
Nov 24, 2025Gwalior Fort, Madhya Pradesh, India
Jan 7, 2019An avian predator built for the snow
Nov 25, 2021Happy Thanksgiving
Dec 29, 2018When science looks like magic
May 27, 2019Reflections on Memorial Day
Dec 26, 2018Boxing Day—a shopper’s delight
Jul 15, 2025Perseid meteor shower over Nevada
May 26, 2019Racing toward history